Thorns
by a. loquita
Summary: Following Daniel’s ascension, O’Neill takes his remaining team on a nice, easy mission to attend a festival celebrated by one of their off-world allies. The attempt to keep everyone’s mind off recent events proves harder than he expected. S/J UST


**Thorns**

One of the ladies sporting the blue variety of costume asks me, "More for you, Jack?" while offering food and drink.

"No thanks, I'll pass."

The lady in blue moves off with one of her friends wearing the pink style of costume. Of note, the one in pink has a better ass, but that's probably not important.

I'm sitting on some "cushions" the Catalonhins have placed all around the Grand Hall during their festival. Thing is, whatever plant bits and pieces they used to stuff the sacks in order to make the "cushions" have pointy thorns on them; so every once in a while, I shift a little, and I get one shoved into a butt cheek. Pretty soon I'm convinced my ass will become a sieve.

But despite my discomfort, I'm not very motivated to move from where I am observing The Festival Of Something/Someone/Doesn't Matter. If Daniel were here, I might have made an effort to remember the name.

Or not.

I'd like to think I might, simply because that would mean Daniel would be here, not wherever he is in floaty white-light land. Which may or may not have a more complicated name than that of this festival.

This is the third time we've been to this festival since Thor first introduced us to the Catalonhins. The initial introduction was a thank you of sorts, for letting him borrow Carter for a while. She saved an Asgard world by convincing Thor to blow up the _Jack O'Neill_ (which I'm still certain Carter got a little bit too much pleasure out of) and then later convinced Thor that introducing us to some new trading partner would be a nice thank you. Better than a fruit basket.

So, I've seen this whole shindig before and there's really nothing new this year. But the reason I'm still here, not back in the Al'kesh with Teal'c, is to keep my eye on Carter. Not enough so that she'll think I'm keeping my eye on her, but enough that some guy named Perviss, who's happily refilling her drinks, knows I'm all over the situation.

She's drunk four cups of the punch by my count already and is working on her fifth. Not that the punch here is particularly strong in alcohol content, but this is Carter and I know her tolerance drops dead after three beers and she _always_ remains professional—and not to mention sober—at these kinds of things, even when I order her not to.

Drinking punch is only one of the many things that Carter's doing tonight that are completely out of character for my Major. Part of me wants to stomp over there like her big bad-ass CO and order her back to the Al'kesh, where I'll yell as if she's some kind of ignorant new recruit. But the other part of me can't do that. If this is how she needs to deal with Daniel in white-light land, then who am I to yell? I expect better of her, sure, but to yell at her now seems mean. I'll wait until she's finished… struggling, mourning, or doing whatever it is that she's doing, and then I'll tell her how stupid she's been acting.

I watch as some other guy comes over and starts talking to Carter. Perviss doesn't look too happy about the situation, which makes me smile. I caught Perviss yesterday checking out Carter's ass, and I'd really love to tell her just to see if Perviss gets the left or the right hook from her. But she's in that weird mood, so if I tell her, I'm not entirely sure I won't get hit instead. It's too complicated right now and I really hate complicated. It gives me headaches.

New guy touches Carter's arm, and apparently that is the cue for poor, unknowing Perviss. He steps between Carter and new guy, and I watch Carter's entire body language change. The arguing between the two boys escalates to the point that others attending the festival are now watching.

I stand when I see Carter's eyes slit to her laser beam look; that's my cue. She's had too much to drink to make a wise decision, and if I don't go over there, these two aliens won't know what hit them.

I'm betting on it being the right hook.

"Carter." I say it conversationally as I approach, just like I always question her. Carter, are you going to get that control panel to work before this place blows? Carter, does all that mumbo-jumbo mean you've figured out a way for all of us _not_ to die a slow suffocating death? Carter, don't you think you've had too much to drink and it's time to go?

Or maybe that last one is new.

"Sir," she snaps. Oh, yeah, she's drunk.

"Alrighty, boys, it's time for Carter and me to get going." Before we cause some inter-galactic incident that rivals Helen of Troy. "We'll see you in the morning."

Perviss says, "I believe it is Samantha's choice to end her evening or not." Did he seriously just puff his chest out as he said that? This guy has wiener written all over him. And not the kind you can barbecue. What Carter sees in guys like this… no, I'm so not going there.

"Yeah," I say cautiously. "Well, normally I'd agree with you…" I trail off because I know it's enough to register with Carter.

She smiles sweetly at Perviss. "The Colonel is right; I should be going."

Perviss looks at me and then back at her. He wants to say more but doesn't. Whether it's the subliminal "You say a word, you die" message I'm giving him that stops him or the fact that he doesn't want to appear rude in front of his new best girl "Samantha" I'll never know which.

Our long walk back from the village, across a field, to where our Al'kesh is parked is largely uneventful. I'm giving her points for not walking in a swervy line. Though she's concentrating way too hard on putting one foot in front of the other for me to believe her act.

Once inside, it's dark and quiet. Teal'c is kel'no'reeming up front. I lay out a bedroll on one of those box thingies that always makes me wonder if UPS and the Goa'uld made a deal on gold shipping crates.

She sits and unties her boots, still not speaking to me. So, I get a second bedroll out for her without saying anything either. If this is how she wants to play it, I've got no problem with that. Some voice inside—probably a former archeologist I once knew turned white-light land inhabitant—is urging me to talk to her. I'm reminded that in this condition, she'll be more open than she might otherwise be.

"Colonel?"

"Yeah?" My heart starts to drum louder.

Damn Daniel for doing this to Carter. To all of us.

Her right hand twitches before she takes a breath. "Nothing. Never mind."

I don't give her a second to rethink it. "'Night, Carter."

oOoOoOoOo

The next morning is bright, and Carter's got on her shades. It's not rare, but it is a little uncommon. I'm betting she's got a killer headache going also, but I'm not gonna comment on it because I'm the bigger man. Or whatever, the point is I'm above it.

Teal'c says on the walk in from our Al'kesh, "The second day of the Festival of Entrancement is most preferable to the others."

I'm no fool. I know it's because they have donut-like things at breakfast and lunch on day two. Teal'c is like an open book. One with pictures of donuts all over the pages.

"Entrancement?" I ask. "Really, that's what it's called?"

"Indeed."

In the silence that follows, I'm sure they're thinking the same thing I am. This is the point in the conversation where Daniel'd start in on me with his exhausted-to-be-putting-up-with-Jack voice. "According to their traditions, the second day of the festival represents…"

Something bubbles up inside, and I'm almost finished squashing it back down when I see Carter stumble slightly. Her coordination is off, not enough that I'd notice in any other solider, but it's Carter.

"Head hurt, Major?" I snide.

She glances at me. Though there are shades blocking her eyes, something in the lines of her face and the slight deflating of her shoulders gives her away. She doesn't like letting anyone down, and whatever I say or do now won't come close to the punishing she's doing to herself on the inside.

Seems I am a bigger man, but only compared to a maggot.

"I'm fine, Sir," she says, clipped and precise.

Yeah, right.

We approach the village, and there's silence. It's not the way I remember day two starting last year. We all pull out our Zats without a word. I make a few hand gestures, and Teal'c takes point.

We search buildings on both sides of the main street through the village. After about the third structure I knew what we'd find in all the rest, but we did them all anyway.

There's not a single person in any of the houses, shops, or tavern. We enter the Grand Hall and the thorny pillows are still lining the edges of the room. The instruments are lying on the ground where the band had been playing them the night before. There's a woman's right shoe on the dance floor, but no woman. There's no one at all.

Carter has pulled out her handheld do-dad. "I'm detecting some strange readings that weren't here before."

"What?" I ask.

She shakes her head. "I'm not sure."

Carter walks the perimeter of the Hall with the handheld thing out in front of her. As she gets close to the back door, she halts, and her eyes narrow at the display.

"Carter?"

"Out here," she points to the door. Teal'c and I follow her exit. The long grass sweeps against our legs as we walk 5 or 6 steps away from the Hall and follow Carter, who has turned to the right and then crouched down.

"There's something here," she says.

"What?" I repeat.

Teal'c hears something and pulls his Zat again, so Carter and I do the same. Rustling in the bushes happens off to my right, and I swing and take aim. Perviss and a little kid come out, looking like they are in shock.

"Perviss," Carter lowers her weapon and takes a few steps closer. "What's happened?"

He glances between her and me. "They are all gone."

"Yeah, we kinda got that part," I say. "Question is why?"

"I do not know." He puts a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Luca here had run off during the dancing last night, and his mother asked me to go after him. I followed him into the wood and behind me I saw a great light. When I returned, everyone was gone."

"What did the light look like?" Carter asks. God knows we've encountered more than a few things that blink and flash by now.

Perviss thinks for a moment. "It was bright; it came from the ground."

I raise a brow at Carter, I'm pretty she also was expecting the opposite, that something had beamed Perviss' people up. This is one of Thor's protected planets, after all, and the first time he brought us here the beaming up and down was our mode of transportation.

"From the ground?" she asks, just to double check.

"I am positive of it, Samantha."

There's always the chance that nothing could have been done to prevent whatever happened from happening. But I've also seen more than a few scientists touch something they shouldn't. I've learned that blind, dumb, bad luck may be the culprit in cases like the one before us now. So I can't help but wonder why the kid wandered into the woods? What did he do there?

"OK," I say, having decided on a plan. "Perviss, you stick here with Carter. Teal'c and I are gonna go take a walk with Luca and check out the woods."

I feel the need to grouch, and it's not because Perviss looks far too pleased with his forthcoming time alone with Carter. I was looking forward to those donuts as much as Teal'c was.

oOoOoOoOo

Most of the day is spent hiking the woods, Luca doesn't say much, but he shows us plenty of ruins that I'm sure would have made Daniel drool. The kid swears he didn't touch anything, and I'm inclined to believe him. Teal'c spots some footprints and states that he's unsure if they were made by Jaffa. But we don't come across any of the living, breathing variety.

In the late afternoon, Teal'c, Luca, and I triple-checked the town, this time looking in closets and under beds, to make sure no other kids hid themselves just in time to be saved from… whatever it was that happened.

Though we stayed in radio contact, the sun's nearly gone when I get back to where Carter has been working and I see her again for the first time since this morning. I know from radio conversations that she'd figured out there was something electronic or mechanical or whatever, about three feet below ground, and she wanted to dig down to it. As I round the corner of the building and observe Carter sitting Indian-style in the grass, I know exactly how her day has gone.

First, she's leaning over a small hole that wasn't there this morning. There's a smudge of dirt on her cheek and another on her arm, nothing on Perviss. Perviss probably offered to do it and Carter, who assumed that Perviss was suggesting a woman can't dig a hole, did it all herself while not letting on that she was irritated.

Second, she's holding her shoulders in that way that tells me she's feeling one of four things: pain, hunger, exhaustion, or just general ickiness. I can never tell the four apart but I do know that all four cause the same bunching of the muscles between her shoulders and her neck. I'm gonna go with hunger this time, and possibly not enough coffee today either, because of the hangover she had going that made her not want to eat or drink anything.

It's one thing to spend a part of the day hungover when all that's on the agenda is sitting in the shade and watching silly aliens put on comedy plays. It's another to be suddenly thrown into work. I decide to go easy on her tonight, be "nice Jack." I should make sure she eats, gets rest, and I promise myself I'm not going to snap at her.

The third thing I know is that Carter doesn't like people bothering her when she's working. By the way Perviss is now back a few paces and giving her space, time spent alone with Carter has not been what he'd hoped it'd be.

"Carter," I call out as I approach. I left Teal'c back with Luca, sitting at one of the outdoor tables of the tavern and eating rations. Time for Carter and her cooling-off-boyfriend to join us. "Put it down for 10 minutes and eat something."

"Yes, Sir." She doesn't look up from her laptop, which has cables running between it and the thingy in the ground. "It's fascinating because some of the—"

A white light glows, rings come out of the ground, and suddenly we're in darkness.

I turn on my light. "What did you do, Carter?"

"It wasn't me, Sir."

Yeah, right. Like I haven't heard that one before.

"Teal'c?" I radio.

"O'Neill."

"Carter and I have been transported… somewhere." I swing around and see only damp stone walls and tunnels.

A nervous voice adds, "And me."

My eyes want to roll, but instead I hit the radio button a second time. "Carter, me, and _Perviss_," I correct myself, "have been transported by what seemed like a ring platform."

The radios crackle for a second.

"I observed it from here," Teal'c answers. "Luca and I remain in the town as before. O'Neill, the rings were larger than any I have ever observed. They encompassed much of the town, including the Grand Hall and several other buildings."

"OK, you and Luca stay put. We're going to try and find a way out of here."

oOoOoOoOo

Two hours later, we've not learned much more. Other than the fact that we're in a big, dark, damp underground maze. I finally ordered us to stop and take a breather because Carter isn't looking good. She should have said something, but of course she didn't.

She's sitting, leaning against the wall, and Perviss is kneeling next to her. As I get closer, I can see the sheen of sweat on her forehead despite the fact that it's chilly and damp down here.

Perviss looks up at me, "It's the root wine."

"What?"

"Approximately one in twenty have an adverse response to the root wine. I did not know that Samantha had the aversion."

Huh. Otherwise Perviss would have considered _not _attempting to liquor her up in order to have his way with her. Gentlemanly.

"Sir." Her voice seems normal enough. But I crouch down to look at Carter carefully. Her eyes open and they have that heavy appearance of someone fighting a fever.

"Just stay put, Carter." I turn to Perviss. "Is there anything that you can do?"

"There is medicine, but only the healers have it. Without it, she will continue to get worse, and she could die."

Great, just what I need– a fatalist in the group.

I hear a sound ahead, and I'm hopeful it's water that I'm hearing, but before I check it out, I've got two things ahead of it on my 'to do' list. First, I unclip Carter's pack from her back and dig through until I find the med kit. She blinks her eyes open again when I hand her two Tylenol and my water. She doesn't argue, and swallows them using the smallest amount of water possible. I give her the eye; she gives me the "But Sir, we'll run out" look, and I give her the eye again. She drinks down half the water and hands it back.

Compromise.

Second, I push the button on my radio, "Teal'c."

There's a long stretch of crackle and no response.

"Teal'c, come in."

Finally, we hear, "O'Neill, we are under heavy fire." In the background I can make out the distinct sound of staff blasts. I see Carter's hand flinch against her own weapon. I know the feeling.

After another 5 minutes, which felt like 40, Teal'c radios again. "Jaffa came through the Stargate. Luca and I are safe for the moment, but more reinforcements have just come through."

"Whoa, wait a minute," I grouch back, "I thought this planet had no Stargate?"

"It appears it was on its side covered by loose rocks and gravel. An incoming wormhole has uncovered it in the valley."

Cater licks her lips. "Sir, we only assumed it didn't have one. We took a look around but…" she shrugs a little. "Thor brought us here initially by ship. He never said one way other the other and we never thought to ask."

Great. I _adore_ it when one of our allies fails to tell us something. Plus, the borrowed Al'kesh from the Tok'ra would have been unnecessary also… I close my eyes, it's not the time to be cursing naked aliens or sending snake-in-the-head "friends" to hell.

"Yeah," I say, opening my eyes again and focusing on what is right in front of me, not light-years away. I hit the radio button, "Well, we've got ourselves our own little situation down here."

"O'Neill, I believe you are safe for the moment where you are. I will attempt to learn what I can and report back in 30 minutes."

"Sounds like a plan, Teal'c."

I leave Perviss to "watch over Carter" which earns me another impressive look from her. Even though she also knows, deep down, I was only saying it for his sake.

Further down the corridor to the right is a dead end, but the corridor to the left yields what I had hoped I was hearing, a waterfall. Testing the water shows it's safe to drink, so I fill up and head back to Carter and her friend. Upon returning, I find them both asleep and a short nap sounds like a good idea.

oOoOoOoOo

I'm on a beach; the sun warm on my skin, the waves are big but not dangerously so, and the beach is empty except for two walruses over there doing… I don't really want to know. I have a bright green surfboard beside me exactly like the one my Uncle Larry gave me when I was maybe 14 or 15. Off to my left, there's a person in the distance walking toward me, a woman. As she gets closer I see blond hair and long legs.

"O'Neill."

That's an awfully deep voice for a woman.

"O'Neill." This time with a kick to my foot.

"Hey!" I say, attempting to sound disturbed. I blink a few times and the sunny beach is replaced with a dark cavern and a tall Jaffa. "Ever consider blond hair, T?"

He looks at me with the patented expression reserved for when he thinks I'm an idiot, but is trying to keep that revelation to himself.

I sit up. "What are you doing here?"

"Every time there was an incoming wormhole, the rings automatically activated. Luca knew of a hiding place in the attic of the Grand Hall. We were there until the next activation, after which, we arrived here."

"That must be what happened before," Carter says, her voice sounding sleepy and scratchy for the first time, but not too bad. I glance over and see her pushing herself up.

"There must have been two incoming wormholes, one that sent the party-goers down here and another when the Colonel, myself, and Perviss were transported. It's a defense mechanism to protect the people of the village, should ever the Goa'uld return."

"Clever," I say.

Teal'c adds, "That would mean the population of the village could be somewhere in these caves."

Perviss is awake now and overly excited. "My people are alright?"

"Possibly." I don't want to get the kid's hopes up. It's a good theory, but there's no telling what else could be going on here.

With renewed optimism, I order, "Let's move."

Only an hour later we come across Perviss' people. An older lady steps forward to hug him; I'm guessing that's Mama Perviss. A younger couple comes to tears as Luca runs to them and is enveloped in a hug, one big, happy family once again.

Now what?

I figure out which ones are the healers and direct them toward Carter; she's shivering and the fever looks like it's back again. I have a quick chat with the village elders and determine that they had no idea there was a Stargate in the valley, no idea this would happen if the Goa'uld came, but there are ancient stories of a "Ring of Protection" that the oldest parts of the village were built inside of. I'm tempted to ask if they know Thor was being sneaky-Thor, but somehow that conversation seems like it could head in a weird direction I'm not ready for yet.

I grab a couple of young men and we carry every container we can find with us back to the waterfall and fill them up. Teal'c gathers all the foodstuffs, calculates, and begins the rationing. We have as much water as we need, but we'll run out of food in 4 or 5 days.

There has got to be a way out of this place. Problem is, out of here means face-to-face with a load of Jaffa.

oOoOoOoOo

12 hours later, the situation is a little calmer. Teal'c and I have organized search parties to go out, canvass an area of the corridors and return within a few hours. We're keeping maps and charts to stay organized and are beginning to grasp just how huge this underground network is.

I decide to leave it to Teal'c for a while and check in on Carter, who's been resting in the far corner and under the careful observation of the two healers, who unfortunately remind me of Abbott and Costello. I'm trying not to be judgmental based on that alone.

"Carter?"

"Hi," she opens her eyes, they're still hazy with fever and illness. I shouldn't touch her, I know, but I can't help myself, and I promise to stay away from anything important. Her forehead is hot, as I expected it to be.

"How you feeling?" Dumb question, O'Neill.

"Better." Dumb answer, Carter. Especially when your CO can see right though your lies. Especially when he knows you'll say anything to keep him from worrying too much.

The healer "Costello" hands me a damp cloth, then he and his buddy move off to give us some space. I press the cloth along her forehead and cheeks. Her eyes flutter closed for a moment and then open again.

"Daniel's here," she says. "Can't you see him?"

"Carter." My heart rate shoots up to record levels, but I keep my tone steady. "You have a fever, a bad one. I'm sure you're just seeing things because of that."

"No," she insists, "he's right here," gesturing to the space to her left.

"OK. If that makes you feel better, then he's right there."

"He says he's here to help me."

Crap.

"He says not to be mad."

"Damn it," I burst out. "Carter, you are going to be fine."

"Daniel's not so sure."

Shit.

"Daniel," I grouch at air. "She's fine, leave her alone, you can't have her. Not yet. She's not yours to take, she's—"

I close my eyes, my jaw clenches, and I breathe. When I finally gain control again and open my eyes, Sam's looking at me steadily.

"Just don't go anywhere," I say with anger that's not supposed to be directed at her. But she's the only target I can see right now.

oOoOoOoOo

I'm studying maps, looking for some hidden pattern or hint, when Costello creeps over. He looks like he's afraid of interrupting.

Finally he says, "She is bad."

"What?"

"Your woman, she is very sick. We cannot help."

Alien doctors– damn them. Carter needs the infirmary right now and all I've got is a bunch of useless maps and no way out. Oh, and not to mention Jaffa walking over our graves at the moment.

I follow Costello to the corner where Teal'c is already kneeling down at Carter's side. They have her wrapped up in blankets. Her skin is paler than I've ever seen; there's a sheen on it, and yet she's shivering like crazy. Damn, how high is that fever, close to 106 or even 108?

Blind panic, it's all I feel. I've felt it maybe a dozen times in combat situations, but only a few times when there was no gun to my head.

In a flurry of activity, I yank the blankets from Carter and haul her body up. She's limp in my arms and that only increases the terror turning my insides into sludge. I vaguely hear Teal'c and the healers concerned about what I am doing, but I ignore them. Something inside tells me that this is right.

I carry most of her weight as I make our way through the corridors. As I go, I work at buttons and zippers.

"This is not how I thought this would go the first time, Carter."

I know she can't hear me.

By the time I reach the waterfall, all I've got are my boots and her pants left to remove. I wrap my arms around her lower back and take a deep breath. Then I step both of us under the spray.

It's not as freezing as I was expecting but it certainly is a shock. I fight the reflex to jump out from underneath the water, knowing that Carter needs this in order to cool down. Damn healers don't know things that any parent of a sick child would know.

As I stand there, the water doesn't feel so bad, or maybe I adjust. Carter's not slumped against me now but standing on her feet fairly well, though she's leaning into me for support.

It starts to register for the first time that we're both here in our underwear and I've got wet Carter skin under my hands. Her head is resting on my right shoulder.

After a few minutes more, she whispers, "Better," barely above the sound of the waterfall.

"Yeah?" I ask.

"Daniel thinks so too."

"He still here?"

"Right there." She snuggles in closer and I take the time to notice that her bra is pale blue and the lacy cups feel nice against my chest. "He says it's not about taking me away from you."

"I know he thinks he's helping." Why is it so easy for me to believe that he's actually here, that it's not her fever talking? Maybe because it's Daniel, and he's proven to me time and again that anything is possible. Or maybe because it's Carter, and I've never known her to believe anything without proof behind it. Maybe it's the waterfall or the surrealness of the entire experience. Whatever it is, I finally admit, "I can't let you go."

She lifts her head from my shoulder. Her eyes meet mine and hold. She's two breaths away from my lips. We shouldn't. We can't. But I so want to forget everything else and let go, just the once. Just in case this time she doesn't make it or I don't. If there's never a chance again, I won't forgive myself.

Suddenly, Carter smiles; she's distracted by something. Or someone.

I fight the urge to groan. "What did he say?"

Sam replies, "You don't want to know."

oOoOoOoOo

I get Carter settled on a rock to the side of the waterfall and go gather our clothes. When I return, I can't see her.

"Carter?"

"Though here."

"Where?"

"The waterfall."

I walk through to see what she's found.

She says, "I realized the water had to be draining somewhere."

There's a shallow river flowing from the pool at the base of the waterfall. On either side is a dirt shore, wide enough for one person to walk.

She's sitting down, leaning against the wall for support, her burst of energy now obviously drained. I hand her my shirt to dry off with first, and then clothes to put on.

"Stay here," I order her, "I'll be right back with Teal'c."

Upon my return, enough of Carter's color has come back to her cheeks that I'm afraid she's going to fight me about not coming along. She doesn't in the end.

I leave Perviss, Perviss' Mom, and about two dozen others with Carter at the waterfall. Teal'c and the rest of the Catalonhins come with me. It's slow going, especially since we only have a couple of flashlights which isn't enough to go around, and in some places it gets so dark I can't even see a few feet in front of me.

On the hike, my thoughts are back with Carter and that doesn't sit well with me. I need to stay focused on what's ahead of me, not what's been left behind.

I have to believe that Daniel wouldn't intentionally do any harm, nor would he convince her to give up hope. Would he? I mean, they are—were—friends. Daniel might be lonely where he is…

No, Carter's gonna be fine and Daniel's just helping her in the only way he can. He's being there just in case. He was always good with keeping a plan B in his pocket.

After what has to have been about two hours, we see daylight ahead. Teal'c removes some rocks to make the opening bigger so that we can all climb through to find trees.

Why am I not surprised?

We stand, looking around the clearing, trying to determine where the heck we are. Well, other than in a forest, obviously.

"I know this place!" Luca says to Teal'c excitedly. "The Ruins of Marcov are right over there!"

I knew there was a reason Teal'c and I instinctively brought the kid. The big guy kneels down to be level with Luca.

"Explain," Teal'c asks gently. "How far we are from the village and in which direction?"

Luca is more than happy to babble away, explaining everything that Teal'c needs to know.

A short time later, we've taken up strategic positions around the village behind bushes, trees, and boulders.

There's a lot of them, the chain-mail-wearing bastards, roaming around like they own the place. Teal'c tells me the ram symbol on the foreheads leads him to believe they follow a minor Goa'uld called something like Kohn, Khnum… All I know is that there's no way we can make it to the Gate with this many people and get them all through without being noticed by Kool and the Gang.

"Sir," Carter says over the radio.

I duck down and hope no one in the Gang heard her. I keep a low voice when I answer, "What?"

"I have an idea."

"I'm all ears, Carter."

"You said they're mostly in the Village."

"Yeah."

The radio conversation goes to her, but at first all I hear is coughing. I try not to wince at the sound. She finally says, "If I can get back to where we first appeared down here, I might be able to find a control panel."

"You already looked, Carter."

There's a long pause. "My vision was a little blurry at the time, Sir."

I know that it's tough for her to admit and I know she's waiting for me to get angry. I am mad, but it's not the time. I remember my previous promise to myself that I'll give her a full lashing once she's past all this mourning-post-Daniel-leaving-angst she's going through, and not a second before.

"OK." So maybe despite my intentions it came out a little harsh. Mostly, I'm worried. It isn't like Carter to admit weaknesses unless it's really bad. Is it really bad now? Crap.

She says through the radio, "I'd like to try again, now that I'm a little better."

She's better, or she's near death and trying to keep my hopes up. Either way, my answer is the same.

"Fine. Take Perviss with you." I pause for a moment. "It better be a good plan, Carter."

Because I'm gonna be even more pissed off if it turns out not to be worth it.

"Yes, Sir."

oOoOoOoOo

Teal'c and one of the Catalonhins creep back to our hiding place east of the Grand Hall. Teal'c gives me a nod.

I push the button on my radio, "All set, Carter."

There's a long wait, where my adrenaline shoots up. It's been over an hour since I've last heard from her or Perviss.

"Sir," she replies. "I need five more minutes."

"Carter." But the rest of my warning falls off. She knows this has to be perfectly timed or it's not going to work.

"OK, three more," she amends.

I wait, counting time. Four other men from the village return from the opposite direction Teal'c did. They've learned the "thumbs up" sign from someone, either me or Teal'c, or maybe from Daniel last year. The—now universal—sign tells me that the exit to the caverns is officially sealed.

Carter's either doomed or about to be everyone's savior. Or both.

The minutes stretch too long. I don't like waiting; it gives me time to rethink everything, not the plan, but everything else. Things I shouldn't be thinking about at a time like this, like how Daniel got so good at shooting a gun, and Carter's plans get more wacked out every year, and Teal'c hardly ever gives me that curious look anymore.

I check my watch again and am relieved that it's time to move. I gesture for some of the Catalonhins to begin creeping north along the edge of the trees; the head start might be needed if this doesn't go off perfectly. And when does it ever?

The radio crackles, then, "Now, Sir."

I nod my head to Teal'c and he pushes the button on the detonator. The explosion is small and controlled, and as predicted, Jaffa go running toward it. Why? I have no idea. Once they get close to the Grand Hall, I hit the second detonator and a larger explosion goes off. Bodies and debris are flung into the air. Nearly every single Gang member is running to the Grand Hall now. I count down 15 more seconds.

"Now!" I yell at Carter.

There's a moment where everything inside stills to absolute calm. My breathing slows, my heart holds tight to something indescribable.

Then the rings activate and I'm moving again, running. Teal'c is waving the villagers along, carrying Luca under his arm like a football. He meets my eyes and he knows what I'm going to do. There's no curious look anymore these days.

I stop and turn. As I take a few steps back toward the Grand Hall, I see them, a group of mostly children, Perviss, and thank God, Carter. The kids are running faster than she is.

Even as I run the opposite direction from the Gate I can still make out the distinct sound behind me of the first chevron locking, and know that Teal'c has gotten there. A few Jaffa that were actually smart enough _not _to run toward explosions have taken positions, and a blast whizzes by my left ear.

I keep running but shoot vaguely in the direction from which it came. The wave of water shoots up into the sky. Teal'c is directing the Catalonhins, who jump in like it's a pool. They don't know it hurts more on the other end doing it that way compared to the traditional.

Perviss meets me half way across the field. I wave him and a group of kids past.

"That way," I yell. "Just keep going no matter what."

A couple of lengths later, Carter makes it to me. She's about to collapse.

"Go!" she shouts angrily.

I shove her down into the grass along with me, as another staff blast aims in our direction. It goes over our heads.

"Sir!" She's pissed. Good, that makes two of us. I glare at her with my 'as if you honestly think I'm leaving you behind' look.

During a pause in the firefight, I haul her to her feet and we get only a few yards closer when I realize the Gate has been cut off. Teal'c has gotten everyone through and he's standing at the event horizon trying to take out Jaffa, but much longer and the risk of them coming through the Gate to the SGC will be too great.

"Teal'c," I yell at him. I'm sure he can't hear me through the chaos and noise, but he knows what I'm ordering him to do.

He steps off the edge of the on-its-side Gate and disappears through the event horizon. The Gate shuts down.

oOoOoOoOo

A third timed detonator goes off and distracts the remaining Jaffa who have not already been blown up or transported below ground. It's brief, but long enough to give me the opportunity to crawl both of us into the cover of the tree line. Several Jaffa remain guarding the Gate, and I'm positive they'll stay there.

We have two options. One is to wait and hope they'll leave soon. Unlikely. Two is to try and make it to the Al'kesh. Also unlikely. Carter's not in good shape and that complicates both plans.

"Daniel still here?" I ask her.

Carter is startled. "No."

"I was hoping he had a plan C."

We both rest our backs against a tree trunk, catching our breath, and we don't talk about the obvious. At least all the villagers and Teal'c got through.

"The Al'kesh, Sir?"

I glance at her. She doesn't want me to ask any questions. "Yeah." Unlikely plan B it is.

After about 20 minutes, her breathing doesn't seem to be labored and I'm getting anxious being in one place for too long. By unspoken agreement we both get up and start to move on. I'm keeping the pace a little light; she doesn't call me on it even though I'm sure she knows. Typically, she and Teal'c are faster and have more endurance than Daniel and I.

Weakness is not something she likes to acknowledge. Problem is, it's becoming an increasingly difficult task for me to accept that. I don't care about weakness and I don't expect her to be superhuman. She knows that, doesn't she?

It's as if she's trying to pretend that nothing breaks her. And yet, all these things she's doing—like getting tipsy alien-style, not telling me when she can't see straight, and yelling at me to go through the Gate without her—it shows that she's broken in ways that are not healing. What the hell am I supposed to do about that?

Nothing. I can't do a damn thing.

The thought crosses my mind that maybe Daniel was here not because of the physical, but the emotional damage. But I push that aside. At least for now.

Night falls and we've not made the amount of progress I would have liked. We stop for a 15-minute rest.

"I shouldn't have told you that he was there." There's guilt in her tone.

"It's fine, Carter." Hiding things from her CO is apparently her new motto. "What good was it going to do to keep it from me?"

She looks at me, guessing that the question is a larger one. "I- I'm trying to do what I think is right."

"For who?" She knows the rules; she knows she's supposed to tell me everything. It's a rule in place so that her commanding officer can make the best decisions for her and for everyone.

She looks away. "It's not like we're completely open and honest with each other. Now all of the sudden that bothers you?"

Oh. That.

Now she's making this an unfair fight.

"Carter," I warn.

She shakes her head; an ironic smile appears briefly then flees. "I'm supposed to know the things you want me to say from the things you don't want to hear." She turns back toward me. "It's not always easy to tell the difference."

This is getting dangerous. Plus, the dim moonlight and forest do not help. For some odd reason I always imagined it would finally happen in a place like this.

"We should keep moving." I get up and I don't offer her a hand up.

We should keep moving in one direction and not many all at once.

oOoOoOoOo

I should have known it wouldn't be easy. Nothing with us ever is. Even throwing a stone out into the clearing to test for trip wires didn't help. We followed the stone, taking a few tentative steps toward where the Al'Kesh was parked, and then it all went to hell.

Carter turned and aimed her gun, taking out two. I put my back to her and shot at a third Jaffa but something from my right moved and I wasn't quick enough.

The shock hit my system, I went down, and only then did I feel the pain spread through my shoulder.

"Carter…" But she already had a hand on my vest and was dragging me, the other hand shooting into the night. Once inside, she dropped me, closed the hatch, and headed to the controls. Her retreating form leaving me on the floor was the last thing I saw before everything went black.

I'm floating in a room that's filled with strange greenish light. I blink and Daniel smiles at me, "Hi, Jack."

"Daniel."

"You're going to be OK."

"Thanks, Doc."

Daniel's wearing a sweater. I don't remember him ever wearing one before? But it seems normal all of a sudden.

"Sam is going to be OK too," Daniel says. He pauses, as if there's more he wants to say on that subject but he's thinking twice. "I have to go now."

"Damn it, Daniel!" I sit up and blink.

"Sir, you OK?"

"OH!" Sitting up was a bad idea; a fire of pain shoots down my arm. "Oh. God. That hurts." I fall back.

Carter explains, "I bound your wound with what we had."

"Great job," I say through teeth that I'm trying not to clench. I look around and notice we're flying.

"Autopilot," she supplies the obvious.

I glance at her in the dim light of the Al'Kesh. She must have been sleeping next to me and my outburst woke her.

"And how are you feeling?" I ask with a dry tone, fully expecting the standard "Fine."

Carter looks at me, weighing something. "I'm doing better than before. Better than you."

"Touché."

She gets up and though she's moving with some effort, like a person with sore and stiff muscles, she does seem better. She heads toward the front of the ship, I assume to check that we're still on course.

Over her shoulder Carter says, "We'll arrive at the nearest planet with a Stargate in a little more than three hours, Sir. You should get some rest."

I choose not to call her on the five things I think of immediately following that statement of hers, five things just off the top of my head. She's ordering me around. We're both going to live and that's good. I wonder about how much around me is on autopilot, not just the ship.

oOoOoOoOo

I wake to the sound of a knock on the front door. It's a warm afternoon and the door is open, a screen is all that's there. But someone still feels the need to be formal.

"Come on in," I shout out.

I sit up, rubbing sleep from my eyes and then notice the TV's still tuned to the Superstation, even though the Cubs game is over.

"Sir." She's stands in the entrance to the living room looking like a soul lost at sea. I might be a mirage of land ahead, or not. Either way, the affirmation of hope or disappointment is still miles off.

"Come on in, Carter. Can I get you a beer?" A half-empty bottle, now probably lukewarm, sits on the coffee table in front of me.

"No, thank you." But the invite is enough to finally get her to move further inside.

I run a hand through my hair, certain I'm doing more harm than good to the bedhead I'm surely sporting. Her eyes fly to my movement, and she suddenly seems even more unsure of herself.

"Sit down," I order.

"Sir, I came here to…" I know, somehow, that's as far as her rehearsal of the speech has gone.

"Sit down, Carter." Does the woman_ never_ follow an order? "You're having a beer whether you like it or not." Because it seems that's about all I can think of.

I shuffle to the kitchen and come back to find her finally sitting in a chair. Her legs are crossed and the skirt she's wearing is neatly smoothed down.

"Look," I say as I hand over a Heineken. "Whatever you think you need to say, it's fine. Everything is fine."

Her chin juts out a little, but she takes a sip instead of responding to that immediately.

I take a long drink of my new cold one. Then keep my eyes on the bottle as I say, "You don't have to be superwoman, you know. You got us out of there, and that's enough."

"Is it?"

I still don't look up. I don't like the sound of doubt in her voice and if it's accompanied by anything remotely emotional on her face, then I'm chucking the bottle and running.

"More than enough, Carter." Damn my voice for going thick. I shake my head, trying to keep it all away from getting between my ears and messing with my gray matter. More than it already has.

After a minute, I start to peel the label from the bottle and something comes out of my mouth that I'm not sure which of us is more surprised at. "My father…"

I clear my throat. He's not a guy I ever talk about, hell, I hadn't even thought of him in at least 15 years. "He used to say, put one foot in front of the other. No matter what. Eventually, you'll put it behind you, but only if you keep moving."

I chance a glance at her. Carter's face is blank, and she's searching me, looking for some clue.

"Carter, I'm trying to help. This is the only way I know how."

She blinks, and for a moment I thought I saw a tear but it's gone. She nods, accepting me for being the thing she expected, or the thing that's never lived up to her expectations; I'm not sure which. "I know that now."

"So… no more drinking root wine?"

It earns me a classic-Carter look, ducking her head before I see her smile. It's as near of an admission as the almost-tear was.

"I promise, Sir. You couldn't pay me enough to drink that again."

"How about on a dare?" Now I'm just teasing her, and she knows it.

"Sir." It's an admonishment for my childishness, a hint that she knows exactly why I'm doing it, and a thanks for giving her exactly what she needed right now.

"Anytime, Carter."

She stands and sets her beer down, not even a third of it consumed. But this was never about us drinking a beer together anyway. "I should go," she says.

"Yeah." I stand also.

Carter seems to waver, and I wonder what she might do if I insisted she stay. But the moment passes, like so many other chances not taken. I find I'm not saddened by it, because chances not taken sometimes don't die completely, they just shore up for another time. Another place, where it's not so hard to take them.

I follow her, and at the door, Carter turns slightly. The summer breeze fumbles in through the screen and plays with the ends of her hair. She says, "You're more than enough too, Sir."

She smiles and then she's gone.

We're going someplace, Carter and me. It's a direction that freaks me out at times but not as much as I thought it might. We're not there yet and that's OK. There's a time and a place, and we'll find it.


End file.
